Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God (1 John 4:7)
The author of 1 John offers a peek at the contemplative life, where we can draw back the curtain of our busy lives and catch a glimpse of peace. Though I have been called to contemplative practices for many years, I am now, finally, conscious of it. One of many, I an urban contemplative seeking moments of quiet and inner strength that offer a brighter way to engage in the world.
Spiritual Practices
My second week in the San Francisco Bay area, I sojourned to Grace Cathedral on Nob Hill and walked their beautiful labyrinth and I was hooked. Practices such as the labyrinth invite the practitioner to be and to become slowly transformed, a micro-millimeter at a time. These spiritual practice offer wholeness in the midst of busy lives, and have a long history in the human practice of religion. Particular Christian expression of contemplative practices include lectio divina, icons, meditation and prayer, and the exploration of dreams. A beautiful aspect of contemplative practices is that people of radically diverse theologies can come together and practice together, not seeking to change or persuade, but desiring wholeness together.
Strange that a harp of thousand strings
Should keep in tune so long!
~ Isaac Watts
What better way to enter the contemplative life than through music? As a lifelong musician, I had always wanted to play the harp. I took the plunge a few years ago and took my first lesson. I am fortunate that the talented Diana Rowan lives so near me, and I knew at my first lesson that this was the instrument for me. It is a joy to play the harp in communities where this beautiful ancient instrument can heal and delight.
On my background
I am formed by a Wesleyan-Catholic upbringing and have now found a home in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The Disciples tradition celebrates the centrality of communion as an experience of God’s grace. My own spiritual community is the Table which seeks to offer spiritual practices in community located in Berkeley, CA. The Disciples have a gift for building ecumenical and interfaith relationships for which I am grateful.